Duke Baseball: Welcome to Duke Coach Corey Muscara

AustinDevil said:
I agree with those who already replied to you. It’s basically the difference between Jai leaving Duke MBB as he did, and Jon leaving the morning after the Final Four loss. Apples and cumquats.
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So if we hire the Murray State coach 24 hours after they get eliminated from the CWS, that's not ok. Just checking.
 
Luke102452 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1932469396913697060

It’s official. This soon causes a pause in my respect for Chris Pollard.
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That picture just looks wrong.

I have to wonder when/how he told the players. Hopefully, he had more class than Midnight Mike and talked to them in person. However, this did seem to happen too quickly. I guess the decision and all but the signatures were completed a while ago. Best of luck to Coach Pollard, except when he plays Duke. Hope we beat him by 10 each time.
 
AustinDevil said:
I agree with those who already replied to you. It’s basically the difference between Jai leaving Duke MBB as he did, and Jon leaving the morning after the Final Four loss. Apples and cumquats.
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At least nobody left on a plane in the middle of the night. While we as fans might have been in the dark, Duke seems to have been very much in the loop with what Pollard and UVA were working on. If it hadn't had been that way, Nina would not have been already working on a replacement.
 
CameronBornAndBred said:
At least nobody left on a plane in the middle of the night. While we as fans might have been in the dark, Duke seems to have been very much in the loop with what Pollard and UVA were working on. If it hadn't had been that way, Nina would not have been already working on a replacement.
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Totally agree that in significant ways it’s not as bad as Midnight Mike. I do wonder if he met with the team, though, now that you mention it. (I’m not saying he didn’t, or that failing to do so would be as big a deal as it is in CFB; I just haven’t seen.)
 
Chicago 1995 said:
So if we hire the Murray State coach 24 hours after they get eliminated from the CWS, that's not ok. Just checking.
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Hey friend, this isn’t law school and I’m not obligated to submit to your socratic-method hypotheticals. (You do seem invested, though; Coach Pollard, is that you? 😂)

Anyway, 12 overnight hours is not when this deal began and ended. So it’s not something I respect.
 
This is a devastating blow for the program. In the short term, we have to worry about a mass exodus of players. I trust that Nina has a plan. In the longer term, I don't think there are many coaches who could win like Pollard did here. I didn't feel that way post-Elko, where the football program had taken a major step forward in investment/facilities and had demonstrated success under consecutive head coaches. For the last decade, Chris Pollard was Duke Baseball.

The short turnaround does sting, and it obviously means that Pollard was negotiating with UVA while also coaching our team. Sadly, that's just the business these days. Losing him to a conference rival is a much tougher pill to swallow.
 
Dukegrid said:
Couple of thoughts:

- Congrats to HC Pollard and the team on an outstanding season, especially from where they started. Pollard's ability to win regionals is really impressive given that we have never hosted a regional.
- That being said, massive missed opportunity to finally get to Omaha. For a program like Duke, you worry how many chances you'll get quite like the chance we had in the Super Regional this season.
- Pollard has done an outstanding job at Duke, truly remarkable. There is a case to be made that pound for pound he has been the "best" coach at Duke over the past decade. Nina needs to call on any resources available to keep him in Durham.
- I would hope that Pollard uses the leverage he has to demand even more financial support for the program. It is important for any program to use leverage points like this to get more resources to sustain and build on success. Baseball will get what they get from the House salary pool, so that means more scholarship money and more NIL support (and yes I believe this Deloitte clearinghouse is nonsense and has a near zero chance of surviving court challenges if they try to restrict NIL deals in a meaningful way.)
- As a non-local fan, the new Jack looks amazing on TV. The setting for baseball is outstanding. I imagine post-renovation it will be a special, intimate college baseball facility. The last Duke Baseball game I attended was at the DBAP. I never liked that setting for Duke. It was like University of Miami football playing at Sun Life, or Pitt football playing at Heinz Field. Invariably you get a sterile college environment. Love that they are dedicated to Jack Coombs going forward.

Go Duke!
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duke79 said:
If true, that was FAST! Damn. Obviously, he must have been talking to UVa for some time and was just waiting for Duke's season to end (again, if this is true?). Needless to say, a big loss for Duke baseball BUT the good news is he has Duke moving in the right direction. And the upgrades to Coombs Stadium should help attract better recruits and better coaches. I would think there must be some up and coming assistant coaches at the big programs or head coaches at smaller programs would LOVE to come to Duke.
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Yes he was. Recruits were aware last week
 
sagegrouse said:
Re Pollard: I have read in the last two years that the SEC pays big money to baseball HCs. Bigger worry than UVa?
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This seems moot now. But my UGa grad son in law, who knows what the insiders in Athens are saying, has told me that Pollard was a finalist when UGa hired a new coach a few years ago. Don’t know if that was common knowledge or not.

Edit - apparently he was hired in 2024; not as long ago as I thought.
 
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Remember the scene from the movie Network? Peter Finch sticks his head out the window and screams “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”
 
AustinDevil said:
There is no way for this to be announced this morning without him being in negotiations with them while his team was trying to get to Omaha. Just my opinion, but I don’t see how there is zero impact on the respect a Duke fan would have for the man after that. My respect for UVa isn’t entirely intact, either.
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Lessee... UVa talks to Pollard's agent to ascertain interest. UV AD then talks to Nina and asks for permission to contact Pollard. Then, everyone springs into action....

Seems like normal big-time sports to me.
 
sagegrouse said:
Lessee... UVa talks to Pollard's agent to ascertain interest. UV AD then talks to Nina and asks for permission to contact Pollard. Then, everyone springs into action....

Seems like normal big-time sports to me.
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I think you hit the nail on the head. The petty whimpering on the board does not shine favorably on Duke. I thought we were adults who recognized how the real world operates.
 
LetsGoDuke83 said:
Hate feeling like a feeder program
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Thats sort of Duke's spot in everything that isn't MBB, Lacrosse and maybe WBB. I feel good about Manny staying for a bit at Duke if he has continued success but its not going to shock me if he leaves if one of the big boys calls. If Franklin ever leaves PSU, its done.
 
Precedent set at Duke with Jai Lucas leaving in the closing games of the tournament. Get used to it. That's big time College sports in today's environment.
 
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